A STUDY ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF IMPLIMENTATION OF IT ENABLED EDUCATION IN THE CLASSROOMS OF THIRUVANANTHAPURAM DISTRICT
INTRODUCTION
From time immemorial man has been craving for development, excellence and improvement. All the innovations and inventions that we see today are the results of such a burning desire. Education is rightly regarded as the main tool for development- especially human resource development. There fore prime importance has been placed in imparting education by the constitution of India.” UNESCO world conference on higher education proclaimed that education is the fundamental pillar of human rights, democracy, sustainable development and peace”. Hence educational scenario should be updated with the development of new practices and innovations as well as the tremendous development of knowledge. Science and technology have always been instrumental in improving facilities and bringing about developments in the field of education
No doubt, the present day educational scenario is at the facet of tremendous change due to the advent of Information Communication technology. “ICT involves a set of technological tools which can very effectively be used to communicate, create, store and manage information”. The application of ICT in various faces of life is so ubiquitous that it produces an interesting, effective present as well as a productive, glorious future. The whole world of knowledge can be brought at the mouse pointer within our classrooms. Likewise, the ideas to be conveyed can be presented effectively and interestingly before the audience. The introduction of computers and internet in the classrooms has paved the way for a rapid, tremendous and fruitful change- a change from the teacher dominated, authoritarian classroom to a child centered, democratic individualized set up where the children themselves can reap knowledge from the various resources available in the computer. In this connection, UNESCO observed:
“Computers and multimedia systems make it possible to design individual learning paths along which each people can move at his or her own pace; they also make it easier for teachers to organize acquisition in mixed-ability class”.(cited in Mukhopadhyay:2001)
In a normal class room the teachers are facing so many challenges in relation to the experiential orbit of the children, their previous knowledge, the educational and economic background of the children, individual differences among children ,specialty of the geographic area in which the children live, insufficiency of the teaching learning materials including the textbooks and so on . So the teachers are required to seek other sources and strategies to supplement classroom teaching. IT has its maximum use in such a situation.
NEED AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
One of the main factors which bring about maximum learning is surely the methodology of teaching. The methodology has undergone changes through ages in relation to the need of the learner, objectives of education and development of technology. In ancient days education was imparted orally and the students learned by listening to what the teacher or ‘Guru” said and reciting the same till it became by heart. With the development of the printed media, education has entered a transformation from abstract learning to concrete learning. Later on the use of audio-visual aids revolutionized the process of teaching and learning. They helped learning by the use of more than one sensory channel, aiding to clarify ideas, establish and correlate facts, interpret and appreciate knowledge, arouse interest and to provide motivation for learning. The present era, being the era of Information technology, unimaginable changes have been brought about in the transaction of knowledge with the use of information technology. In this contest it is imperative that the teacher is equipped with sufficient knowledge and proficiency in the use of IT for classroom teaching.
In Kerala ICT is given great importance in the curriculam. The efforts of IT @ School aptly illustrate this .But in spite of all these advances , we fail to integrate technology effectively in to our teaching- learning scenario . It is a sad truism that though the need and importance of IT enabled education is much recognized and emphasized, its implementation in our primary classrooms is not up to the extent it ought to be, if not altogether absent. Surely there may be so many reasons behind the lack of wide use of ITC in our classrooms .. In this contest a study aiming at the assessment of the extent of use of IT enabled education in the class rooms of our primary schools and the difficulties encountered by the teachers in implementing IT enabled education becomes relevant.
In Kerala ICT is given great importance in the curriculam. The efforts of IT @ School aptly illustrate this .But in spite of all these advances , we fail to integrate technology effectively in to our teaching- learning scenario . It is a sad truism that though the need and importance of IT enabled education is much recognized and emphasized, its implementation in our primary classrooms is not up to the extent it ought to be, if not altogether absent. Surely there may be so many reasons behind the lack of wide use of ITC in our classrooms .. In this contest a study aiming at the assessment of the extent of use of IT enabled education in the class rooms of our primary schools and the difficulties encountered by the teachers in implementing IT enabled education becomes relevant.
OBJECTIVES
. The specific objectives of the study are the following:
1. To study the effectiveness of use of IT enabled education in the classrooms of Thiruvananthapuram District
2. To study the difficulties encountered by the teachers in implementing IT Enabled education in schools
3. To study the suggestions offered by the teachers under study regarding the measures that can be adopted to implement and popularize IT enabled education in schools
METHODOLOGY IN BRIEF
The present investigation is designed to study the effectiveness of IT enabled education in the classrooms of Thiruvananthapuram District. Normative Survey method is adopted for the study as the study is aimed at assessing the present status of the IT enabled education in the classrooms.
SAMPLE FOR THE STUDY
The sample for the study constituted the teachers, students and Head masters of ten selected schools in the rural areas of Thiruvananthapuram District. .The schools are selected using random sampling technique
TOOLS USED FOR THE STUDY
The data needed for the study had to be obtained from the Head master, teachers, and students of the sample schools chosen for the study. Hence, the following tools were prepared for the study:
*Questionnaire for Headmasters
*interview schedule for teachers
*Interview schedule for students
The data thus collected from the students, teachers and Headmasters were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively to realize the objectives of the study
2 Conclusions
The conclusions that are arrived at in the present study are presented below:
Conclusion 1
The teachers in our schools are taking earnest efforts to bring into effect IT enabled education to its maximum possible extent , though there are some limitations. They are holding a positive attitude towards IT enabled education
This conclusion is based on the following major findings
1.Majority of the teachers under study got training in IT, mostly in the Linux operating system. But all the teachers are to be trained properly for the effective implementation of IT enabled education in the schools
2. 62.86 percentage of the teachers can use IT confidently while a small proportion of teachers can use it only with partial confidence. Yet, even those who haven’t undergone formal training also try to use IT enabled education with the help of other subject teachers and IT teachers appointed by the PTA.
3 There are discussions in the school resource group (SRG) on implementation of IT enabled teaching in all schools.
Conclusion 2
It enabled education is implemented mostly in the subject classes than in the language classes. Teachers are yet to develop skills for using IT enabled education in a constructivist classroom
The following major findings lead to this conclusion:
4. IT enabled education is used more in subject classes than in language class.
5 It is mostly used for seeking more evidences or supplying more information only. Teachers are yet to develop skills for using IT enabled education in a constructivist classroom.
6. Main activities given after the computer show include preparation of explanatory notes, drawing diagrams, notice preparation and preparation of questions
Conclusion 3
Teachers as well as students recognize the advantages of IT enabled education alike at the same time teachers experience some disadvantages also
The following major findings helped to reach at the above conclusion:
8 Teachers and students are well aware of the advantages of IT enabled education. The main advantages pointed out by teachers are
-It helps for collecting more information
-students are more interested and attentive
-Classroom activities become active
-Learning becomes easy
The students gave the following main advantages of IT enabled education
- Learning becomes easy
- helps to get a lot of information
- Motivates children to seek more information about various things
9. The teachers give certain disadvantages too, as follows:
-All lessons cannot be taught using IT
-Those things which can be shown directly in the class need not be given through IT.
- Showing experiments directly is more effective than showing it through a computer
-Most often , only visuals can be shown which is not combined with sounds
-Could not attain perfection
- Giving group works is difficult
Conclusion 4
The main difficulties encountered in implementing IT enabled education are the lack of proper training for teachers incorporating IT with the school curriculum and occasional refreshment trainings, lack of sufficient infrastructural facilities, lack of Onsite support and monitoring in this field and lack of adaptation of the text books and handbooks for IT enabled education.
The above conclusion is arrived at from the following major findings:
7 Schools do not have all the infrastructural facilities needed for IT enabled education
10.The major difficulties encountered in implementing IT enabled education are related to the lack of proper training, lack of infrastructural facilities, lack of support and monitoring. etc.
The major difficulties cited by headmaster are the following:
1.Lack of necessary infrastructural facilities (100%)
2. Lack of proper awareness among the teachers to use IT in a constructivist classroom (80%) .
The teachers under study reports the following difficulties
1.Lack of proper training(94.29%)
2.Lack of infrastructural facilities(82.86%)
3.Lack of time to prepare for IT enabled education (40%)
Conclusion 5
The headmasters and teachers have their own suggestions for the effective implementation of IT enabled education in our schools .These are mostly pertaining to the areas such as provision for proper IT training to teachers followed by occasional refreshment, provision for infrastructural facilities, adaptation of the text books and hand books and provision for onsite support and monitoring.
The above conclusion is arrived at based on the major finding given below:
11.The major suggestions given are pertaining to the areas such as provision for proper IT training to teachers followed by occasional refreshment, provision for infrastructural facilities, adaptation of the text books and handbooks, provision for onsite support and monitoring, etc.
The major suggestions offered by the headmasters are the following:
1.All the teachers in our state should be given sufficient training in IT with periodical refreshment
2.Cluster trainings should be IT oriented
3.Necessary infrastructural facilities should be provided
4.Curriculum and text books should be adapted to IT enabled education
The teachers offered the following major suggestions as follows:
.1.Give sufficient training to all teachers in IT
2. Timely supply of resource CDs
3. Provide internet connection in each school
4 Provide smart classrooms in each school
In short we can see from this study that there is a Scope for It enabled education to flourish in the classrooms of our district if necessary trainings and infrastructural facilities are provided.
Educational implications
The findings of the study have wide implications for the improvement of educational system in the district . This study would help the authorities to have a clear picture about the present status of the IT enabled education going on in the classrooms of Thiruvananthapuram. This would help the educational authorities to prepare an action plan for popularizing IT enabled education in schools providing adequate support for the teachers providing necessary training and intermittent orientation courses for the Upper Primary teachers in preparing IT enabled lessons in their subjects
Further, it would provide a vivid idea about the infrastructural facilities needed and at present in schools for the infusion of ICT in classroom teaching and learning. If the authorities concerned make an endevour to provide Infra structural facilities and necessary resources, considerable change can be brought about in the field education
